MINNEAPOLIS — This year’s version of the NBA’s Final Four features no recent champion. Nor does it feature a reigning or past Most Valuable Player, a statistical anomaly since the media began voting in 1981.
What it means is there’s opportunity around, and moments are waiting to be seized.
Luka Donu010diu0107 has been close to an MVP and will soon break through, while Kyrie Irving has been a champion, but far enough removed to understand how finite these chances are.
That is what was on display early, and late, in the Western Conference finals opener at the Target Center in Minneapolis.